What’s behind…Over and under…

What’s behind…door number one?

Every time we get out of the car, open that prospect or customer’s door, we’re entering territory that’s either totally uncharted or that’s at least somewhat unknown.

The people on the other side of it might be having the best … or worst day ever. That means that we have to be mentally prepared for whichever it might be.

Obviously if it’s a prospect and it’s that second possibility we’d be wise to beg off and choose another day for that sales attempt. If it’s emergency service for a customer it’s another story since we’re there to resolve whatever problem has them riled up in the first place.

In that case we know to start by calming them with assurance that we’ll handle the situation. Then we have to figure out what needs to be done.

If it’s a siphon breaker that’s gone geyser mode, it’s immediate and the water needs to be shut off so that a semblance of calm can be restored. If it’s spotty glasses, we can address it in a lot more relaxed mode and won’t have to do much calming.

Whatever the cause of their angst, job number one is to address it and leave them happier than we found them.

Yep, walking through that that door requires some mental agility. But if we’re ready for whatever it holds, we can adapt our approach and adopt a style that maximizes our effectiveness and importantly meshes with their mood.

Next up: Asking questions first.

Over and under…But which one?

Over promising can be downright tempting. We have a customer who wants whatever as soon as possible and we really want to please them.

On top of that by our nature we’re optimists who see the glass as eternally half full. So it’s no revelation or much of a surprise that we’ll promise to do what we hope we can! And therein lies the trap.

Almost as soon as we’ve let those ill-conceived words escape out lips, we’re already beginning to realize we might just have stepped in it. But the die is cast. It’s too late to pull back. So all we can do now is go as hard and as fast as possible to limit the degree to which we under deliver on our all too optimistic promise.

How much better if we’d just paused before we gave in to our can-do self and perhaps even added a cushion to what we were certain could be done. That way instead of disappointing them we might just do better than our conservative estimate and maybe even come off a near hero.

Under promising and over delivering is a lot better (and satisfying) than the alternative. Now if only we can stifle that can-do self just a little the next time…